The Washington critic., 1887-09-13

cav ike nanns hanging IMPLY ny ner |!
side and her thick lips slightly apart.
She would not 60 without some word |
of response for her darling Miss Fanny. |
The overseer's son flung II Mt her pres.
emily. and she snapped at II as patient |
dog snaps at the long wai,cd.for NOR
sci mid air.
"Tell her I'll see what I can do
"Yaas, SIR" 'Mandy's glit,ering teeth
closed over the words with snap, aud
turning about without even the cere.
mony of courtesy, she clambered once
more over the rail fence, with the agil-
ity Of q monkey, and was soon again
plungiDg her bare heels into the
leathern sides Of her mule.
II was scarcely an hour later when
Othello went crashing over the same
ground. Cap had waited long enough
to see that the beast had consumed his
last ear of corn and had been well
watered, In the meantime examining
the condition Of his big navy rcvolvers
that always hung In the black holster
on the nall behind the beds head, and
putting fresh charge into the shot.
gun that stood In the corner Of the
room hidden by the armoire. 1t was
dark when he and Othello plunged into
the woods, but they needed no sense of
sight TO guide them over the familiar
path.
1t was darker still when they found
themselves In front Of the cleaning
white fence that outlined the Coloneps
handsome yard premises against the
rest of the plantation. He could see
lights burning dimly in the different
rooms OF the house as he cantered
slowly by. He reined his black horse
into slower gait when he came In
sight of the big house. lie must ride
past 1t, through the old quarter lot, by
the overseel' house, where he had first
seen the light, TO reach the threatened
Clubhouse. For one deeting second
nature asserted her supremacy, and he
gave himself up to passion of longing
for one glimpse of the sweet girl face
whose pure patriclan outlines had
dwelt with him wildly all through the
lonely years of his useless manhood. 1t
was vouchsafed TO him. A lurid glare
A tongue Of upward leaping flame, and
the big house stood revealed as In the
broadest sunlight. He stuck his sharp
spurs flercely into Othello's flanks. The
black horse leaped forward with a
snort OF surprise and Indignation.
His rider cast one upward look at the
little room with the dormer window
where he had gone to meet his chance.
The curtains were drawn aside, and
framed In by the dark woodwork was
white, startled face, illunined by
the dancing flames up yonder beyond
the quarter lot. Again and again the
sharp rowels were plunged into
Othello's smoking flanks, while the
flecks Of white foam from his bit.tor.
tured mouth flew back on his glossy
sides. Captain Sutton rode like mad
man that night. His experienced eye
had located the flames at once. 1t was
not the Colonels gin; 1t was Marsden's.
They would reach the Colonel next.
How he was to save 1t he could not
conceive. These men came armed
with the authority Of the military.
This destruction of private property
was condoned under the head of mill.
tary necessity; but whatsoever one man
could do to defy the many, that he pro.
posed to do.
AS he galloped through the quarters
he gathered around him once more his
motley following They were freed
men now. But they were docile and
biddable still. They caught the In
spiration of his fiery glance and ringing
voice. He paused in their midst long
enough to shout "Boys, II you'll
stand by me we'll save the old man gin
for him yet. He's suffered and sacrl.
feed his share already. Think Of
AL ~ Then he plunged forward in
the direction Of the dark mass of brick
and woods brought prominently into
view by the flames that were consum.
ing its neighbor. The crops of two
years were piled up under Its capacious
roof. There was no place to ship 1t
to. There was no one to buy It. With
the speed Of an experienced cam
| paigner, Cap drew dark Gordon
about the gin. He had not much faith
in his untried Forces but, after all, the
whole thing was a desperate chance.
Then he faced Othello In the direction
the gin. burners must come from, and
waited only little while. They came
galloping briskly presently.
Theirs was no act of mere incen-
diarism. They were doing what they
had been commanded to do: Theirs
not to question why" Then Cap. Sut.
ton had recourse to the emotional for
the first time in his blunt life. lie
faced them promptly, and reminded
them of all the old man, lying sick at
the house yonder. had already given
| up TO the cause they too were battling
for He appealed to their own sense
of justice to defend the Colonel's prop
erty. His right to stop them was
sharply challenged. His name was
sharply demanded.
"Sutton"-he gave It sullonly. He
knew It carried no prestige with 1t.
Sutton p 1t was repeated with q
brutal laugh of scorn, "The over
seer's son has been skulklng In the
woods ever since the fight began -
There were no words known to Caps
vocabulary that could answer such q
taunt. There was flash, and another
and another, then confused sound of
galloping horses feet, and Othello,
riderless, was among them.
"Whata mercy 1t was" Mrs. RaSe
Sutton said to her husband on the night
when she had the proud pleasure of re.
ceiving the Colonel and his wife under
her roof for the first time that Cap
had enough breath left in his body
that night to tell the folks to bring him
here instead of to the Colonel's. If 1t
hadn't been for her nursing him
through that time Cap never would
have found out what good wife Miss
Fanny could make, and he'd "a lived
and died alone in that shauty in the
woods. Now look at him. +"
1T was lucky thing that he had
that hard little pin-cushion in his vest
pocket" Colonel Rafe Sutton answered
meditatively. "The doctor says it was
the bullets littin' 1t and glancin' that
saved him and sent the bail meant for
| Ii L.. LII y.